Keonjhar: : Keonjhar fast track court judge Bijay Kumar Mishra on Monday sentenced a 25-year-old man to 20 years in prison and fined him Rs 10,000 for the gang-rape of a 16-year-old girl. In case of non-payment of the fine, the court ordered an additional 6 months in prison. Three others involved in the crime are on the run, and a non-bailable arrest warrant has been issued against them.According to special public prosecutor Patitapaban Nath, on Feb 13, 2021, the Childline of Banspal block received information that a 16-year-old girl, who was 7 months pregnant, was living in the house of a goat herder. On the same day, the Childline rescued the girl and placed her in the Sakhi One Stop Centre, district headquarters hospital, Keonjhar. During counselling, the centre’s director came to know that she was pregnant. The girl was found to have been gangraped.Centre’s director Aishwarya Sanghamitra Das gave a written complaint to police on July 13, 2021. During investigation, police found evidence against four persons. The court passed the above sentence based on the statements of 20 witnesses and police investigation report while hearing the case. The court also ordered the District Legal Services Authority to pay Rs 10 lakh as compensation to the girl.
